Final Fantasy VII: The story
by rOOkiebballer
Summary: This is the story of Cloud Strife and Avalanche, and what begins as a simple bombing mission turns into a quest to save the Planet from imminent destruction.
1. Reactor Number One

_Author's refined Note_

_So, I just wanted to say that I have changed odd little bits and bobs to most of the chapters, and there not really recognizable (I mean if anyone actually read my story and remembered what it was like before…), and I deleted that newbish author's notice that was up there before, because it sounded so… well newbish and pathetic, and I don't think it did very good with the intro. Anyway, I've come back from a very long period of dormancy, and I'm not gonna make up any excuse saying that my computer fucked up or anything. It was just a very, very long writer's block. So, enjoy and review (flames welcomed)!_

**Book One: Midgar**

**1**

**Reactor Number one**

It was the dead of the night. Silence had settled over the Mako Reactor of Sector one, the constant mechanical hums being the only disturbance hindering the peace. Several guards garbed in the blue uniform of the ShinRa's armed forces patrolled the quiet corridors of the Reactor in pairs, each carrying rifles apiece.

In the lower part of the Sector was the train station secured by two guards, who were lounging about the platform languidly with their eye lids threatening to droop down.

They were awakened abruptly, one of them jumping to his feet from the ground in alarm from the piercing shriek of a train whistle. The whistle sounded loudly twice more down from the track, where a small pool of light was slowly making its way towards the platform along with the distant sound of a train's loud rolling.

One of the guards looked questioningly at the other, who shrugged back. "Guess the Reactor _Labbies_ called for maintenance or repairs or somethin'." He said.

"Maintenance? In the middle of the night? You must be kidding." The other replied sounding dubious.

"Maybe it's urgent..."

Finally, the steaming charcoal engine came to a stop, giving off a last relieved whistle as if it was tired from its run, and was glad for the rest. The Guards stood watching the train, uncertain of what to do.

"Should we call one of them?" One of them said.

"Na," the other replied "We can handlit. You're right, probably is a maintenance crew or somethi–"

The Guard broke off suddenly when the door of the train's second compartment slid open with out warning, and a slim woman garbed in rough, patched clothing stepped out of the train, her dark, unkempt hair held down by a piece of red bandana. By her overall appearance, she truly looked like one of the mechanics who visited the reactor once in a while. One of the guards approached her.

"You must be the maintenance crew the technicians called. Is there an urgent–". The words died on his lips as the women slammed her gloved fist into the Guard's head, sending him flying into the wall. As he slumped down on to the ground lifelessly, the second Guard raised his rifle, his eyes widening apprehensively.

"What the hell -?" He began, but before he could get more words out a figure crashed down onto him from top of the train, knocking him unconscious. A lean, tough looking man in similar, rough clothes as the women straightened up, a look of great dislike for his adversary outlining his face, and kicked the unconscious Guard's head for a good measure before turning to the women.

She arched an eyebrow at the man in a disapproving fashion before turning to the door.

"The area's safe Barret, let get going." She called.

From the doorway, a short pudgy man stumbled out with a loud cry followed shortly by the crew's leader.

Barret Wallace, a dark skinned man of six foot four, age thirty five and the founder of the terrorist group – environmentalists as Barret would heatedly argue – _Avalanche_, was an intimidating individual. Barret was a very bulky and masculine man, his large body bulging with years of exercised muscles. The fault probably was this, that his head to body ratio was much too uneven, the latter being much too big. He almost always wore an angry scowl on his small, square jawed and bearded face which made him as ten times as intimidating. As if this wasn't enough to frighten anyone, a flaming tattoo of a screaming skull marked his thick upper bicep on the left, the cracking features of burning bone etched with eternal pain.

But none of this was the real source of Barret's distinctiveness. It was his right arm, or rather, the absence of it, and instead, surgically attached from his elbow was a gatling gun, and many people would question themselves – nobody would actually ask him, he wasn't a very approachable person – how does it work and how did he get it? Of course only Barret knew about it and he had kept it very discreet, even to his team members. A thick girdle looped around his waist with odd pockets hanging from it. No one probably ever asked what was in those either.

The big man cast a sweeping scrutiny for his surrounding before turning to the train door to confront the last person.

The final member of the small party stepped out of the train. Impassive blue eyes regarded Barret coldly as the young man placed himself in front of the bigger man with crossed arms, a strong air of arrogance emitting about him.

The young man was at least a head shorter than Barret. His face was pale and narrow, with jagged, blonde spikes of hair shooting up from his head, and his left ear pierced with a small, blue jewel. He was well built, looked quite handsome in his early twenties and seemed to be made entirely of cool, self-composure.

Large pieces of mismatched protective gear covered the young man's blue sleeveless uniform. Suffice to say, he wore the most unusual garments and accessories, including a rather non-descriptive bracelet on his wrist, which seemed to have a number of small circle cavities. One of these slots was occupied with a small green jewel like orb, which seemed to radiate with a soft energy. A large belt wrapped his waist; a very curious insignia adorned the buckle of the thick leather belt.

Other than that, there were two things that made the man almost as prominent as Barret. The first was his eyes. Those cold, emotionless eyes were more than just icy. It had an unnatural glow to it, with vibrant swirls swimming in the deep sapphire pool. The next thing that was even more unnatural was the size of the man's huge sword slung across his back. The blade was about four feet long, almost tall as its owner and about a foot wide. On the base of the thick blade, another glowing orb was set into one of two slots, similar to the one on the man's bracelet.

He continued to watch Barret calmly with his cool gaze, his steady hand grasping the hilt of his giant sword jutting out above his shoulder. Just by the young swords man's eyes, the temperature around the place seemed to drop a little.

Before turning to his crew, Barret nodded towards the young swords man. "Okay then new comer, you'll be stickin' wid' me."

He received no answer, just another cold stare. Barret almost shuddered before he could stop himself. Turning to his men Barret roared "A'right _Avalanche_! Move out!"

As his three members headed around the bend, off the platform and out of sight, Barret spared a glance for the young man behind him before running after his crew. As he turned the corner, Barret came across his crew grouped in front of the security panel of a large, metallic door set on a high, obstructing wall. Opposite the gate were the quiet houses of Sector one lined against the empty streets, with the lights on each side dimly illuminating the whole street.

Biggs seemed to be busy with the door, and was connecting a set of wires onto the panel from a small device in his hands. Barret had no idea what the thing was, and the only thing he was sure about was that it would soon open the door for him. When it came to technology, he depended on the other members to do the job. His gun-arm was the single machine he had ever handled, and the thing was just as easy to use as any other weapons.

Wedge and Jessie stood around Biggs pointing and whispering at what ever the hell they were doing. Barret turned at the sound of footsteps, and saw his young mercenary running to join him. Surprisingly, he had his sword in hand, its blade smeared with blood.

"Wha' the hell took you so long eh? I thought you'd run off or somethin'!" Barret scoffed angrily.

The young blonde took his time to calmly wipe his blade on the side of his pants, leaving a trail of dark smudge on it. Then he took care in slowly setting his sword onto his back as if afraid of stabbing himself before turning to a red faced, fuming Barret.

"I had a little run in with some guards," He said impassively, ignoring the sudden murderous gleam on Barret's eyes. "Two fools who thought I'd be easy meat after you and your friends left. Guess they thought wrong, huh?"

Barret almost raised his gun-arm, but caught himself before he could blow the arrogant warrior's pretty face away. Jessie, who was watching, quickly came to the rescue, before her leader would explode and cause a dilemma.

"So, I heard that you worked for ShinRa... as a_ Soldier_ right?" She asked, gently laying a hand on Barret's right arm.

The blonde nodded, but with eyes still on Barret who looked ready to smash something down, namely, the young warrior standing in front of him.

"I never got a hold of your name you know." Jessie continued "If we're gonna work together then it'll be good to know each other's names..."

A few moments of silence passed with both men glowering at each other and Jessie holding her breath. Then the blonde turned his attention to the women.

"The name's Cloud Strife." He said finally "and I'm an _ex_-_Soldier_. I don't have anything to do with ShinRa anymore.

"That's an interesting name..." Jessie commented "Well Cloud, I'm Jessie, Barret as you should know already and–"

"I don't care what your names are" He said, dismissing her with a wave of his hands "Once the job is finished, I'm outta here with my pay."

Barret couldn't believe how far the spike head's egoism was going. His rage replaced with sudden indignation, Barret stepped forward to defend his party, ignoring Jessie. She seemed to be worried as if her leader would start another outburst.

"Hey you prissy ass punk. I dunno what kinda fancy shit ya' used ta get from ShinRa, but yore workin' for me now. Watch your attitude with my men."

The words seemed to have no effect on Cloud whatsoever. The ex-_Soldier_ crossed his arms and turned away from Barret, ignoring him completely. It looked like there was no point of getting fired up again. He would have to deal with the arrogant fool in another way.

"Now, this is Jessie," Barret said as the women nodded tentatively. "That's Biggs, the thin one workin' on the door, and the short, fat guy is Wedge." He pointed finally at the pudgy man, who straightened up with indignant "Hey!"

It might have looked stupid, him explaining to another person who didn't seem to be listening at all. But Barret was satisfied to see Cloud's small smirk when he had introduced Wedge. Looked like this emotionless young robot was human after all.

There was an abrupt sound of pressurized steam being released – and a triumphant 'Ha!' from Biggs – as the huge metallic door slid open with a rusty screech. Beyond the door, Barret could see a gigantic factory like building, silhouetted against the dark, night sky. Every now and then, the Mako Reactor would blow out gushes of blue-green steam out its many valve pipes. It was a sight that took most people's breaths away. For Barret, it was the main motive for what he had started, and it was the reason he was here tonight. For him, it was a sight that burned his eyes with white, hot rage.

Wordlessly, Barret started towards the reactor, weaving across the streets to the main entrance of the reactor. As he stepped through, Barret found himself on a walkway suspended far above an abyss of dark buildings below.

It was time. There was no turning back and once it was started, Barret would have to follow the chain and move onto the next reactors.

The clanking of his steps echoed in the chilly night air as he approached a fork, the walkway splitting into two paths. One led straight to a large door painted with a musty 'Sector Eight' while the other branched right to the entrance of the Mako reactor.

Barret halted at the intersection and turned to see rest of his crew approaching him, the ex-_Soldier_ right behind them.

"Wedge, ya know what ta do." He said to the pudgy man "An' god help you if yore not ready wit' that door, you got that?" The rest were said with gruelling menace, his usual for Wedge.

The pudgy man saluted smartly, a small grin playing on his lips. "Aye aye Cap'in!"

As Wedge darted towards the large door leading to the next sector, Barret nodded to the rest of his crew and continued onwards to the Reactor.

Inside he found himself in a narrow corridor. It was empty, which was a surprise for Barret as he had expected few guards to confront with. On the other side of the corridor was a door, and with the quiet clutter of their feet on the cold, metal floor ricocheting off the walls, _Avalanche_ crossed the empty space to the door.

Barret pushed the door wide open and came to a stop in a brightly lit room, which supposedly was the control area with its many machines and equipments. Like the room before, this place was also completely vacant of guards, and even the technicians. On the far end of the room directly opposite to them were door, and another one on the right side.

"So where to now Jessie?" Barret asked.

Confidently, the women pointed to the door at the far end of the room.

"I'm pretty sure it's that one over there." She said "Unless that blueprint I was studying is completely off, which I doubt."

They hurried to the door, carefully dodging the equipments on the tables lest one of them should knock it off and cause a ruckus. Once they reached the door, Barret stretched for the button.

"Wait up Barret!" It was Jessie "This door might have some sort of security lock on it. I think you should let me handle this." She said, pointing to a security panel beside the door.

Barret grunted in assent and watched as Jessie pulled open the panel to reveal and tangle of wires and started to connect them to a small device that looked like an odd calculator. After much connecting and pressing of buttons, the security panel gave a satisfying beep and the door slid open, revealing a small room with the set of elevator doors just opposite them.

"Biggs, it's your turn. Keep a tigh' lookout, an' run like hell if yore in trouble, goddit?" Barret said turning to the lean man as Jessie and Cloud headed into the small room. He nodded before sealing door shut behind him.

Barret turned to see that Cloud and Jessie was already on the elevator, and hurried to join them before the doors slid shut.

Compared to the size of its doors, the elevator was quite spacious and even with Barret's huge form in tow there was more than enough space left for two more people. On the wall of the elevator were two simple buttons, two glowing, red arrows pointing up and down. As soon as Jessie reached up and pressed the button pointing down, the compartment shuddered momentarily before beginning its descent below.

An awkward silence settled over the three, the only sound coming from the quiet moan of the elevator moving. Barret leaned onto the wall of the elevator with arms crossed, ignoring the uncomfortable hush and glanced at Jessie, who held her hands behind her back and was watching Cloud from the corner of her eyes, shifting nervously as if the uneasy silence was getting to her. Or maybe it was just the ex-_Soldier_, but then again Jessie was assertive and outgoing person. She got on fairly well with anyone she'd ever met.

Barret followed her gaze onto the young mercenary, who like him was leaning back on the side of the elevator, twisting the bracelet on his wrist idly with a vacant expression as if in a deep thought. Suddenly, Tifa's words from earlier at the Seventh Heaven Bar before the mission washed over him once more.

_I know he'll be a great help, _his dear friend had said, when Barret had voiced his distrust in the man, _Sure he used be with ShinRa... but if I know Cloud, he never lies. If he says he's left them for good, then he has. I trust him as much as I trust you Barret... that means you'll have to trust him too._

Barret fought hard not to scowl right then, as he had at the Bar while making the promise with Tifa to at _least_ try. How could he trust this punk, who had been a very member of the tyrant corporation he was trying to bring down, to help him in achieving that goal? To make matters worse, he was a part of the elite _Soldier_ – or an ex as he persistently reminded them – which would have tied him even tighter to ShinRa. Not only that, the guy was full of himself, up to his neck in an arrogant streak. It was very hard to trust him in current circumstances, and he did not like the guy anyway.

But, promises were promises and Barret hated breaking them, especially to someone dear as Tifa. He would just have to keep a sharp eye on him, until the time came when the ex-_Soldier_ could prove his loyalty.

Barret's thoughts were interrupted by Jessie, who as it turned out couldn't take the pressure of the silence and tried to spark up a conversation with Cloud. Barret snorted. As if it would last long, much less if she could even start it.

"So Cloud, you've been in here many times no doubt." She said "I was wondering if you could tell me about the inner workings of the reactors. I'm not too clear on the inside stuff."

Slowly, the ex-_Soldier_ raised his head, his expressions unreadable as he eyed Jessie. For some reason, his gaze flickered to Barret, before answering in a reluctant tone.

"I'm not so into the proper workings of it either. I was placed here to guard and protect it, not to go around with a wrench and repair things. _Soldiers_ were seldom sent to reactors anyway. Only when nuts like us started to sprout and gather ideas about vandalizing the place, we were sent to catch them."

He paused briefly, almost as if to see how Barret would react, and then continued.

"As you should have noticed by now, the reactor reaches several hundred metres below ground level – even past the slums – where the actual gathering of Mako from the Life Stream is done. Then Mako is transported above to be burned just like any other fuel, to be used as a highly efficient and non-polluting energy source-"

"My ass" Barret spat suddenly "Highly efficient and non-polluting? Yeah, but wha' the hell man, the thing is suckin' up the Planet's life, its blood! It's dyin'! What's the point of havin' clean air when we can't live on the planet no more, huh?"

The ex-_Soldier_ turned his icy gaze to Barret. "I don't care what happens to the planet." He answered in a manner to match his stare. "We'll be long dead by the time the Planet is dry, it's not my problem."

Barret felt his temper mounting again. He could almost feel his prosthetic arm – his prosthetic! – itching to rise, then thought better of it. Instead, he leaned back once more and glared at him, imagining the blondie's head blowing up into a thousand pieces.

Another few minutes passed, with Barret glaring daggers at Cloud and Jessie uncomfortably watching both them from one to another, when the elevator's descent began to slow, until it came to a final stop with another shudder. Barret straightened, ready to exit and as the two doors slid open, he froze.

Only about four paces from the elevator were three of the blue uniformed guards, each carrying rifles apiece, who looked just as surprised to see them there as he was. Time seemed to slow as no one moved or made a sound, staring at each other in wide eyed apprehension. Finally one of the guards snapped out of his reverie first. He raised his rifle and shouted.

"Who are you? You do not have authorization to this place! Don't move and put down you weap-"

The guard never finished the sentence. A blue-grey blur sped by Barret and everything seemed to happen at once. There was a gun-shot, a scream from Jessie followed by a deathly gurgle from the guard, who toppled lifeless to the ground, his head dangling from his neck by an inch of skin.

Barret had just a second to adjust to what had happened, before the speeding blur was charging towards the second guard.

The ex-_Soldier_ had his behemoth sword in hand and was dashing towards the guard with incredible speed. The guard did not even have time to scream as the giant blade tore through his middle, blood spurting furiously. But the ex-_Soldier_ was not finished there.

Barret was enraptured by the deathly performance. The mercenary moved with certain grace that seemed unachievable with the weight that he was carrying. He moved with a deadly, wolf like grace, he was one with the big hunk of a metal.

Barret watched in awe as man and blade moved as one towards his final confrontation like an uncoiling snake, leaping high into the air just as a panther would. The guard could only watch as death soared to him, and seemed to have forgotten the rifle in his trembling hands.

Almost within a metre from the petrified guard, the ex-_Soldier_'s descent began to slow as if he was defying the very laws of physics, as he twisted his entire body and lashed out with his boots, catching the guard on the side of his protected head, sending him soaring over the platform railings and out sight.

It all happened in mere seconds and yet, Barret could not believe what he had seen. As he stepped out of the elevator and onto the massacre, the ex-_Soldier_ calmly bent down among the bodies and pool of blood, and wiped the red from his sword on the guard's uniform.

Cloud whirled the sword in his hands easily in a refined finish before sheathing it on to his back, and turned to the gaping Barret and Jessie as if nothing out of ordinary had happened.

"Well? Are we gonna stand here all day?"

_Oh yeah, the thing that actually got me back on my feet was CloudLov3r's review. I mean, I did call him/her a fag, but s/he actually praised my fic, and had nothing to flame about it! I was soooo amazed! So I just wanna apologize to him/her right now for that insult, but CloudLov3r… you're still a fag. You flamed so many well written stories, I possibly can't stop calling you a fag, so sorry! _

_And plz review all you ppl, even if you thought it wasn't good enough. I've realized reviews are what inspire me to write!_


	2. Reactor Number One: Part Two

**2**

**Reactor Number one: Part two**

Cloud swept around from the gawking pair to peer over the railing of the platform he was standing on. As he took in the familiar surroundings – ignoring the crumpled figure on the bottom – with a sweep of his gaze, hazy memories began to waft into his thoughts. The metallic walls, high ceiling, and the many pipes and machines were all too familiar, even the lazy buzzing of the reactor working. It seemed that he could remember this place quite well, despite his long absence from it. Like he had explained earlier to the women, as a _Soldier_, he was hardly ever near a reactor. The thought was disturbing for some reason.

Soon his gaze trailed to a small pair of doors far below, just where it had always had been. Cloud turned to his employer, and the dark man was still wide eyed from what he had just witnessed, staring at the bodies as if they were the most interesting things in the world.

"We're wasting time Barret, shall we get going?" He asked in deliberate patience. The man's head jerked up, then he suddenly seemed to realize how much of a fool he looked like, gawking like a bird, and straightened, his usual scowl back on his face.

"Shit man, wha' tha hell did they feed ya' in ShinRa?" he growled disbelievingly "Yore a monster, ya' hear me? Even I can't wield the big piece o' tin of yores, and look at you!"

A monster was he? The fool should have taken a good look at himself in the mirror before saying that with a damn gun hanging off his arm. And a big piece of _tin_? His Buster Sword was more than just a piece _tin_. It was a state of the art design for current _Soldier _weapons and probably could shear the fool in half like paper. Well, there could be an exception for the big oaf's thick skull.

Cloud managed to maintain a smooth face despite his inner musings and merely shrugged.

"The door down there leads to the heart of the reactor" he said, pointing to the door below. "Let's not waste anymore time. There could be more guards around."

He gestured to the set of stairs on the side, winding down towards the level below. Barret seemed to have regained his old self and roared orders to move out, but Jessie seemed to be still in shock while they raced down the flight of steps, a mixture of awe and horror etched in her look.

As soon as they reached the floor, they raced across the quiet empty space that seemed not needed, past the splattered body of the guard – where Jessie blanched visibly – and to the set of doors Cloud had indicated. Barret pushed the doors open, and they were soon bathed in the room's dim red light.

They were standing on a walkway, and far below he could see platforms and ladders leading down into eerie bluish green glow.

"It's down there" Cloud told them, as he peered down into the lengthy fall below "That's where we'll be able to see the actual current of the Lifestream."

Barret's expression shifted to sudden unease as he saw the ladders. It became worse when he stepped up to the edge of the walkway.

"Frickin' hell! That's a bloody long way down man!" He exclaimed in a wary tone, peering down. Cloud couldn't understand the abrupt change in the man's demeanour.

"What? You got problems with heights?" he asked with a frown, and was answered right back with one. Then the dark man's setback finally snapped into him, as Barret waved his gun-arm in annoyance.

This time, a smirk could not been hidden behind his mask of cool, and it set Barret into another tantrum of rage.

"You wouldn't have problems with a simple ladder, would you now?" Cloud taunted, ignoring Barret's indignity. "You're a tough guy. You should be able to handle this with only one hand, right?"

He was answered with a dignified "Of course!" before he set off in his descent. Barret was right about what he had said though. The way down was incredibly long, and a fall from here would mean an obvious death.

After the first few rungs of the first ladder, Barret joined him, cursing and growling the whole way. Every few rungs, he would yell out in frustration about one thing or another, with very inappropriate words. But down the whole way for Cloud, he was only worried about the big fool slipping and sending both of them plummeting to their deaths. He suddenly wished he could have waited for Barret to go down first.

The ladders and platforms seemed to stretch down forever, but soon enough, the floor slowly grew in size and he leapt off the final ladder, landing with a soft thud. Then quickly remembering the lumbering danger above him, he leapt out of the way just in time as Barret crashed down to where Cloud had stood a second ago, with rolls of sweat pouring down his brow.

"Bloody hell! Wha' were these people thinkin', huh? Why didn' they jus' make another elevator or some shit!" Barret growled "And to think that I have to go back up the frickin' thing!"

Cloud had enough of his whining, and just ignored it. Instead, he saw that the women – what was her name, Jessie? – was missing.

"I tol' Jessie to stay up there as a sentry." He said, as if he had read Cloud's mind "Good thin' too. Wouldn't wan' her going up an' down this shit anyways."

Cloud nodded, and turned to find himself on a narrow walkway stretching all the way to the other side of the circular chamber. He could hear the sound of gently sloshing water, as the ex-_Soldier_ took in the surroundings. The ceiling and walls of the chamber was glimmering with an eerie, green radiance reflecting off from below. He heard Barret's grunt behind him and leaned over the railing.

The bright turquoise Mako, life source and blood of the Planet, was shimmering gently below, swirling around the platform and streaming out of the chamber by another opening on the other side.

The sparkling fluid's hue of deep emerald green and turquoise gave it a mystical look; the sheen was such a glittering wonder that anybody who even glimpsed it would think it beautiful and awe inspiring. And to think that this wondrous, life giving gift from the Planet stretched further in every direction under the soil was a marvellous thought.

It had been a long time since Cloud had last seen this place, and the current of a Lifestream. The swirling stream of blue-green always reminded him of _Soldier_, his old occupation in ShinRa. _Soldier_ was an elite group of specially trained warrior men, whom had superior strength and fighting skills from those of others. Under the administration of ShinRa, they were deployed for special occasions, which were those that normal soldiers could not handle. In order to be accepted, the men had to meet certain requirements of physical capability and mental discipline, and once chosen by senior members and staff, they would go into a procedure known as the 'Mako Shower'.

As its name suggested, the procedure was literally immersing the members in fine sprays of Mako, thus enhancing their already superior physical stature. Some who were chosen had died due to the high exposure of Mako also known as Mako-poisoning, because their bodies weren't able to take the strain of the Mako and the sudden changes inside them. This also meant only the strongest survived.

The Mako Shower was the reason for the peculiar glow in Cloud's eyes. Once you managed to become a _Soldier_, you were marked out as one for the rest of your life, by the Mako-enhanced iris that anyone could recognise.

And there was one more thing, although it was very hazy to him. After the Mako shower, _Soldier_s were injected with a special serum. Some sort of cells… but there seemed to be some kind of a wall in his head, blocking some of his memories.

Barret leaned over the railing next to him, the haunting glow of the Mako turning the big man's small head green.

"Yeah that's Mako alright!" he said "Shit! Look at this Cloud! We're fightin' to save this! And to think that those damn bastards in ShinRa are burnin' it up for their frickin' money!"

Cloud glanced at him, and saw the look of wonder on the man's face. It was odd to see his usual scowl missing, and it suddenly came to the ex-_Soldier_ why a person like this would appreciate the Planet and its Lifestream so much, that he would do something crazy as to go against the world's strongest organization and blow up things. And by what Barret had stated, he had obviously seen Mako before.

"So you've seen Mako before?" Cloud voiced his thoughts to him.

The big man seemed to have not heard, but for a fleeting moment, Cloud thought he saw a slight flicker of the man's dark eyes to him, and miniscule change in Barret expression, from the wonderment to a darker look. It went as fast as it came, but it had definitely been there.

Barret swept around from the railing, and shouted to the ceiling "Common Man! We gotta job to finish!"

Cloud straightened. He was right though, job at hand first then maybe questions later.

As they neared the centre of the walkway, Cloud stopped once more. Right there in the middle of the walkway was a Materia, just like the exact same jewel like green orbs set into his Buster Sword. Maybe someone had dropped it.

"What's the hell is that? You playin' wid jewellery now Spikey?" Barret said mockingly, walking up from behind.

"Can't you recognise a Materia when you see one?" Cloud shot back in an annoyed fashion.

"Ya' mean those pretty little gems made of Mako? Shit, I don' even wanna touch those things man. It's like we're abusin' the Planet wit those things, usin' it as a weapon ya' know? Besides, don't know how to use them" The big man added in as an afterthought with a shrug.

Abusing the Planet? There was no other use for a Materia, a condensed form of solid Mako, other than a weapon. And he didn't know how to use them? Most terrorist made catching them cumbersome with those tiny, magic bestowing orbs.

"You don't even know how to use them? How sad." He said pityingly. "Don't worry though, you'll receive your first lesson with an expert after we're done with this, free of charge!"

To Cloud's displeasure, Barret said nothing with only a slight deepening in his scowl. The dark man then suddenly plunged his left hand into his vest and pulled out a dark spherical object roughly the size of a tennis ball. Cloud immediately recognised what it was.

"Here Spikey," Barret yelled, suddenly tossing the sphere to him. "S' time to prove yourself to _Avalanche_. I'm givin' you the 'onour of blowin' up our first reactor."

Cloud caught the small explosive deftly out of the air and smiled sardonically "What an honour it is then. It'll be my pleasure."

Tucking the Materia he had picked up safely in his pocket, the ex-_Soldier_ started off for the end of the walkway on the other side of the wall of the chamber, where a small computer like machine was set into it. So he still didn't trust him, fearing mutiny perhaps. Well, at least the man's was cautious and not entirely thick skulled. Cloud couldn't imagine the personal shame that he would have brought down to himself if he was working for someone who had brains of a goat.

He tossed the bomb dangerously high up in the air and caught it on the tip of his finger. Cloud turned around to see Barret, and saw his eyes aflame, his teeth grinding together in fury.

The fool of a man needed keep his cool. He was too quick to his temper, and way too hot headed like a teenage child. Calmness and keeping your cool was the way to do things, and escape irrational decisions and actions. Barret's temper would one day, put him in hot water.

Cloud bent down on his knees to the floor, his fingers poised above the small red button on the bomb...

_Watch out! This isn't just a Reactor!_

He felt cold metal hard against his cheeks. The resonance of the mysterious voice still echoed in his dizzy head as he found himself sprawled on the floor, the bomb still positioned in his outstretched hands.

"What the hell are you doin' man? You sick or somethin'? Collapsin' like that."

Barret trudged towards him, with an actual look of genuine worry. "You were twitchin' and shit, clutchin, yore head an' all."

Cloud picked himself up, shaking his head vigorously. What in the world was that? It just happened all so fast. One moment he was ready to set the bomb, and the next he was down in a flash, and not to mention the echoing of the strange voice. Had he heard the voice somewhere before? Or was he just really sick?

"It's... it's nothing." He said and clicked the tiny button on the bomb. The small red dot began to flash. Cloud stood and turned to the waiting Barret.

"Nice job Cloud! Now let's get the hell outta here before-"

He was immediately cut off by a sudden wail of sirens; the lights around the chamber began flashing red, plunging the whole room deep crimson. Overhead, the top of the ceiling broke off and plummeted towards platform where Cloud was standing. Thinking quickly, he snatched the bomb from its place and leapt away just in time as the ceiling crashed onto where he had been standing.

Cloud immediately got to his feet to see if Barret had managed to avoid the ceiling, but his worries completely vanished.

The thing standing on top of the ceiling was gigantic. It stood on short but powerful, hooked legs, three on each of sides of its armoured body with two short, rifle mounted arms stretching out from either side of its torso. Arched above its back was its long tail with a very lethal looking pointed tip. The Guard Scorpion was not to be taken lightly as a foe, although outwardly it did look very slow and clumsy.

Without warning, the mechanical arachnid raised one of its rifles, aiming directly at Cloud. He immediately leapt out of the way, just avoiding the hail of bullets that rained down on where he had stood before, but it was not finished there.

Before even his feet could touch the ground, the Scorpion's long tail came at the ex-_Soldier_ at a wide swing, catching him in his chest at a full force. Cloud was sent flying back by the devastating blow and crashed hard into the railings on the side, winded and dazed. With black and white spots dancing in his vision, Cloud forced himself up, completely aware that the Scorpion was not done with him yet. He was also very aware of the bomb that he still miraculously held in his hand and lucky it was still there. If anything happened to it… well he did not want to think about it. Carelessness would be a fatal mistake.

Once back on his feet, Cloud tucked the bomb away in the same pocket as the new Materia and drew his Buster Sword. Holding his weapon firmly in front of him, the ex-_Soldier_ turned to meet his foe. The Guard Scorpion spun slowly; its tail raised high above its head and began to crawl towards its prey.

A close-up combat seemed out of question, unless he could get under the scorpion and strike its unprotected underside… then get crushed under the huge weight of the robot. No, definitely out of question. Cloud glanced at the green orb set into his bracelet. There seemed to be only one way.

Sheathing his sword swiftly onto his back, Cloud tensed to leap aside and at the same time began to concentrate on the green Materia set in his bracelet. The Guard Scorpion reacted like lightning to the ex-_Soldier_'s sudden movement and raised its rifle arm, then…

"Yahhh! Take this ya' big heap o' metal scrap!"

Cloud caught himself in a comical stance with his legs stretched tautly, already in a half leap. At the same time his arms were waving madly in mid air as if in a desperate attempt to fly. He stumbled forward clumsily, his concentration on the green orb broken. He looked up from the ground to see Barret charging towards the Guard Scorpion, yelling madly with his gun-arm spewing bullets towards it. The robot staggered slightly, although it didn't seem to have taken even a slightest dent from the assault. Nevertheless the Guard Scorpion's attention turned to Barret and away from Cloud, giving him a chance for an attack.

"Don't just stan' there! Get yo' spiky ass movin'! Do somthin'!" Barret roared as he threw himself aside from the incoming swing of the Scorpion's tail.

Whether the big man was depending on him to destroy the robot or not, Cloud compromised. He raised his arm towards the distracted scorpion, his finger outstretched and once again focused on the contents of the Materia on his bracelet. The green, jewel like orb began emitting a soft glow, with its emerald surface swirling mysteriously just like its owner's sapphire eyes. The ex-_Soldier_ could feel the odd tingling sensation as the condensed orb of Mako glowed more fiercely this time, surrounding him in an aura of pure green.

A sudden surge of wild electricity rushed through his whole body in an instant second, pulsing from the small Materia. Cloud began a quick mental exercise in his mind, and pictured grasping the current of energy with his hands. As he did, the untamed electricity gushed towards his outstretched hands.

The air seemed to intensify with heat, as the tips of his fingers cackled fiercely with sparks. With a yell, the ex-_Soldier_ balled his hands into fists and launched his bolt of thunder towards the Guard Scorpion. The jagged line of brilliant, blue lightning streaked towards its target and hit home with a thundering crash, surging through the metallic armour to the inner machinery. The Scorpion shuddered violently as the current of electricity heaved through its body, short-circuiting the internal system.

Cloud did not waste any time to launch another bolt at the Robot. The arachnid jolted more violently as another lance of electricity stabbed through it and staggered sideways into a crazy, lopsided dance. Now was the opportunity for a close-strike, maybe the finishing move. But before even he could grasp the hilt of his Buster Sword, something happened.

There was a bright flash of light then a sudden blast, as the whole side of the Guard Scorpion's body exploded to pieces. The robot toppled to the floor in a mess of smoking, metal plates and wires. Cloud lowered his shielding arms from his eyes to see Barret with his left arm holding up his smoking prosthetic gun-arm… which looked very different.

The big leader blew out heavily in exertion and turned to Cloud, a large grin playing on his lips.

"Charged Particle cannon." He said proudly as he hefted the slightly larger single barrel attached to his prosthetic instead of the many small barrels of his gatling gun. "I callit the Big Shot. You can see why I call it that, eh spikey?"

The ex-_Soldier_ had to admit, the new weapon packed quite a punch. Maybe the big oaf wasn't so much of it after all. Of course, Cloud would never admit it outright.

"Where was it in the first place, huh?" He scoffed instead and turned away "It could've saved us much trouble you know."

Barret scowled his usual, as he ejected the Big Shot cannon from his arm and replaced it with his old Gatling gun. "Hey, don'tcha even know how ta' say thanks?" he growled "And s'called the right timin' ya' know? I was jes' choosin' the right time to-"

As Barret's device clicked in, something else clicked into Cloud. He turned to face Barret in his mid sentence with an unnatural look of uneasiness "Barret, how long was the bomb set to detonation?"

The big man's dark eyes widened in alarm. "Shit! Do ya' even have it with ya'?" He asked; panic definitely ensuing in his voice.

Cloud fished the beeping bomb from his pocket in a hurry, and to his horror, saw that there was less then ten minutes to get out. They had to get out of there now, unless they wanted the Lifestream as their grave.

"Ten minutes," Cloud said. Barret swore loudly.

Cloud positively threw the bomb onto the floor before he and Barret dashed down the narrow walkway to the ladder. The ex-_Soldier_ leapt onto the rungs and began to haul himself up through the ways leading upwards to the exit in a lightning pace. As he leapt to the topmost walkway to the door, he found Jessie crouched down on her knees.

"My leg's stuck!" She groaned miserably as she attempted in vain to pull her leg out of a crack in the walkway. As soon as he pulled her leg free, Barret clambered on to the walkway. He was red faced and sweaty, but Cloud was just glad he had managed a quick climb by himself.

"Thanks Cloud!" Jessie said smiling at him "That took awhile though-"

"Common, we have to get outta here." Cloud cut her off none too gently "We got less then ten minutes to get out." He turned to Barret, crouched over and still breathless from the climb. "You okay big guy?"

The dark man straightened immediately and scowled. "Course I am! Watchoo think yore doin' eh? Get the hell movin'!"

Cloud lead the group out of the room without further ado and into the large, high ceiling chamber. They ran up the many stairs and dashed to the elevator, not even giving the dead bodies a glance. Cloud reached the button to the elevator first and tapped the button repeatedly in desperation. The pair of doors slid open slowly, too slowly for the ex-_Soldier_'s liking, but opened nevertheless. As soon as Cloud stepped onto the elevator the others followed suit in a hurry, followed by Jessie immediately reaching for the glowing red arrow pointing upwards.

The ascent back to the upper world seemed to be tenfold slower, the speed of the elevator almost taunting its occupant's haste. The minutes it took seemed stretch to the ten minutes they had to get out. For that long, frustrating wait, Cloud had to endure Barret's incoherent growls and grumbles while he himself tried hard to keep his cool over the situation. Jessie was just in a pure state of agitation, biting her nails, tapping her feet and looking down at her bare wrists occasionally, then realizing she had no watch on, shook her head vigorously only to repeat it few seconds later.

After what seemed like an eternity of anxiety and waiting, the elevator shuddered to a stop. Cloud and two _Avalanche_ members burst out as soon as the doors split open, only to be stopped in another time wasting confrontation.

"What tha' _hell_ are you doin' on this side of the door, huh?" It was Biggs who Barret was shouting at. Slumped on the ground with his back to door, the lean man jolted to his feet as soon as the trio entered the small room. The look on his face was not a happy one, and the reply he gave answered why.

"The alarm must've been triggered" He said "and about half a dozen guards turned up so I had to jump in here and lock the door with the decoder Jessie used. They probably don't know the password or else I would be dead meat by now." And sure enough, there were voices on the other side of the door, sounding angry and heated. The cover of the security panel lay on the floor as if it was ripped off the wall in a hurry then thrown across the room, and the innards of the security panels were connected to the small decoder. "It'll only be a matter of time before they send a technician to open it."

Barret let out a stream of words so colourful, that Cloud could almost feel his ears starting to rot. However Cloud couldn't help but feel for the guy, as his own cool was diminishing rapidly as well. Time was wasting, and by estimation, there was less than three or two minutes to get out. He had to do something fast and there was no time for a carefully structured plan.

"You said there were about half a dozen?" he asked Biggs while taking his Buster Sword off his back. The lean man nodded in response. "Then get the door ready to open. And get ready to run as fast as you can."

Biggs nodded and ran straight for the security panel while the other two crowded behind him.

"Ya' think you can go 'gainst more o' them this time?" Barret said doubtfully. The ex-_Soldier_ did not respond and instead shrugged nonchalantly. If they were all guards, yes. If there was even one from _Soldier _in them, then it would be a problem.

Cloud felt for his Materia once more, but this time, for the one set to his Buster Sword. He concentrated, and as the green aura surrounded him, Cloud did not feel the sudden pulse of electricity in him as he did before. Instead, the temperature began to drop around him, as if the air around him was cooling rapidly, and the doors opened.

There were six guards in total just as Biggs had said, all crowded near the elevator and cramped between the desks and equipments. They all turned in surprise as the door opened and raised their rifles, yelling loudly. Yelling was the last thing they could do.

Cloud charged forward and swung his hand in a wide, arc like motion. The icy coldness encircling him jumped to the guards to and materialized into true frost, freezing half of them solid in a case of ice. The rest screamed in pain as they were partially encased, cold knives of frozen moisture cutting into their flesh.

"Run!" Cloud shouted, but the three were already ahead, rampaging through the desks and computers to the other side of the room. He sped after them in a hurry, leaving the frozen guards screaming and leapt over the mess the others had made to the door. Soon he was out into the narrow corridor, running behind Jessie and the rest in a mad dash.

How much more time they had, only god could know. _A minute? Seconds? _It could have been right then, as the ex-_Soldier_ rushed out the reactor entrance to the walkway outside. He heard Barret's frantic shout for Wedge to open the door over their rattling steps. The fat little man was exactly where he had been left, crouching by the large door to the next sector. He immediately leapt to his feet and obliged to Barret's orders, the doors slid open upwards, revealing a tunnel.

It was then, that it happened. It first began with a rumbling and a thundering explosion as the walkway they were standing on shook violently. Cloud was thrown off his feet as the platform rocked sideways, almost falling over the side below to nothingness. He saw Jessie beginning to tip over the side as well and lunged for her arm just before she fell. Swinging her bodily onto his shoulder, Cloud ran for the exit where the others were already waiting. Another eruption fired, accompanied this time with the sound of roaring flames. Cloud felt intense heat behind his back, and dared not turn. With the last ounces of strength left in his leg, he leapt the last few metres between him and the door, and soared through it. As he crashed to the floor with Jessie still in tow, he heard Barret's roars to shut the door over more sounds of blasts behind.

It was the last thing the ex-_Soldier _heard before the tunnel shook and crashed to the floor, and darkness consumed everything.


	3. A Flower Girl

**3**

**A Flower Girl**

"Well. It's done and done." Biggs said breathlessly with a smile. "That should keep the Planet going, just a little longer." Wedge seemed equally happy, as he hopped about the caved in tunnel joyously with a large grin fit enough to split his face in two

Despite the fact that they were trapped and slowly running out of air, both men were in a brilliant mood. Cloud watched the pair as they danced around each other in circles merrily, laughing like immature teenagers. To him, they looked pathetic, like naughty little children who had just caused a great mischief under the noses of the big adults and had had gotten away with it.

Cloud turned from the happy two to watch Jessie and Barret crowded together on the opposite side of tunnel, obviously trying to find a way to get them out of the mess they were in. Moments later, they both straightened and dashed back towards where Cloud was.

"Get back everyone!" Jessie's yell was followed by a blast of explosion as the debris crumbled to bits, opening up the way to freedom. Flames danced in the mouth of the exit as a result from the explosives and one by one, _Avalanche_ threw themselves out through the ring of fire and into fresh air safely.

Rolling back onto his feet, Cloud straightened up to find himself in a dusty alley surrounded by the backs of looming buildings with piles of junk littered everywhere. A set of stairs trailed up towards a bend that apparently lead to the open streets of Sector eight. Panicked screams and shouts filled the night sky from the people still roaming the streets, and pretty soon the whole neighbourhood seemed to be up and bustling in panic as the windows dotted about the apartments lit up. The mouth of the tunnel behind him still cackled with flames as Barret leapt out with an unnecessary yell, followed lastly by Wedge who managed to light his pants up from jumping straight through the fire.

"A'ight _Avalanche_! S'not finished yet," Barret said, ignoring the yelping Wedge as the fat man rolled madly across the ground in a comic attempt to kill the flames "Rendezvous at the Sector Train station! Split up, an' make sure ya' don' run into any guards! Move out!"

Jessie and Biggs saluted smartly and disappeared up the stairs in a flash, followed shortly by Wedge who now sustained a hole in his pants, and a red raw bottom. As he saw the last of Wedge disappear, Cloud turned to Barret and was a bit taken back to see the big man clambering over the scraps of trash in another direction.

"H-hey! Wait a minute-"

But he was cut off immediately "If this is 'bout yore money spike, it's gonna havta' wait till we're back at hideout, now get going!" With that, Barret climbed over the dump and vanished from sight.

The ex-_Soldier_ stood there stupidly with his mouth gaping open. That wasn't exactly what he was about to ask, but he couldn't do anything about it now. With a frown, Cloud set off on his way to the Sector eight train station without further ado.

Once he had ascended the stairs Cloud came to a stop at a large plaza. There was complete chaos everywhere. People were running across the square, many screaming in absolute terror as they scuttled about the place. Some were merely in a state of confusion, peering about and wondering what just had happened. Smouldering chunks of what seemed to be the wreckage from the reactor lay everywhere, while a few had managed to fly into buildings surrounding the plaza. An old theatre next to the alley was in a complete mess as it burst into flames; the debris from the reactor had completely demolished the entrance.

Amongst the pandemonium, Cloud had a dim chance of attracting attention to himself. The ex-_Soldier_ dodged about the place while people still ran amok in confusion and panic, then he saw big, spiky letters spray painted on the brick wall he was crouching beside. Cloud straightened to read it.

_Don't be fooled by ShinRa!  
Mako energy doesn't last forever!  
Mako is the Planet's life source!  
The end is in sight!  
_

_Protectors of the Planet: AVALANCHE._

Cloud snorted loudly. There was only one person in the world dangerously brave or stupid enough to have done this. Cloud couldn't see why Barret was risking his life for the Planet, and not only that, but against the world's most powerful entities alive. ShinRa was not a force to be reckoned with, especially if you were a ragtag bunch of low life individuals from the slums.

Lost in his thoughts, Cloud continued his way to the train station. As he turned a corner, he collided hard into someone, his forehead coming intact with the other person's. The ex-_Soldier_ merely stumbled backwards rubbing his forehead. The person he had collided was down on the ground – apparently a women by the look of her pretty pink dress and ribbons, and long brown hair, braided down her back – and was rubbing her forehead also.

Cloud held out a hand, but could not help but feel a little annoyed "Hey lady, you should watch where you're goi-" He began indifferently as the women took his hands, then froze in mid sentence, as a pair of dazzling emerald eyes looked up at him from under wavy locks of hair. Her eyes widened abruptly, as if in a sudden surprise or recognition, and flickered to the Buster Sword jutting out behind his back, but her surprised look disappeared as quickly as it had come.

The women, or more like a girl, hoisted herself up, dusting dirt off her dress. "Thank you, sir." She said in a beautiful, chime like voice, smiling deeply. Cloud tried to say something, but his tongue seemed to have swollen up. She was very pretty indeed – and how else could he say it, pure and innocently beautiful? – even with a coin size bruise forming on her forehead. He suddenly felt dirty, felt not worthy enough to touch her as if he would taint her purity with bloodstained hands. It was really an odd thought, but it did not feel wrong.

The girl quirked a finely lined eyebrow at him as Cloud continued to stare at her, and even that was done in a charming way "You came from the direction of the blast, right?" she said suddenly "Could you please tell me what happened back there?"

"Nothing," he answered mechanically. The girl quirked her eyebrows at him once more. He had no intention saying that at all, and then realized how stupid he must have sounded. At least he had regained his power of speech.

As Cloud opened his mouth to say that it was not safe to be out here, the girl bent over to pick up a basket that she had apparently dropped when they had run into each other. Cloud's eyes widened at the contents. Arrays of beautiful flowers filled the basket, arranged according to their colours. How long had it been since he had seen his last flower?

With what he had intended to say completely forgotten, Cloud looked up from the display of colours and aromas to see the girl beaming at him, her large green eyes alight with mixture of pleasure and amusement "Do you like them? They're only a gil each" She said.

Cloud was in an honest surprise. "You don't see many flowers these days." He said as he fished out a coin from his pocket. In fact, there were no flowers in Midgar at all… or should not have been in this case.

The girl took it with a benignant smile and handed him a blue flower in exchange. "Oh, thank you! I figured it'll go with your pretty eyes." She said.

The ex-_Soldier _felt his face heating up slightly from the unusual comment. He tucked the flower into his pocket rather awkwardly and turned to the serenely smiling flower girl. "Well err… you – you should get outta here." He said in a vain attempt to regain his composure "It's not safe to be out alone in a place like this." And before even the girl could reply, he swept past her in a hurry.

* * *

She watched him dash off in haste, watched him until he disappeared from view in the distance, her smile fading slowly. He was exactly like _him_. His uniform, his arrogant stance that seemed to come naturally to him, his incredibly large sword and… his glowing, _Soldier_ eyes. It all painfully reminded her of _him_.

The flower girl gazed down the street once more with a shuddering sigh, then dusting her pink dress thoroughly she set off the opposite way, her determined and open smile ready on her face.


	4. To Sector Seven Slums

**4**

**To Sector Seven Slums**

At the moment, Cloud Strife was furious with himself. He had gotten to the calmer and cleaner part of Sector eight, and so far had managed to avoid running into any sort of trouble. But now he was lost. The silent neighbourhood was totally unfamiliar to him; identical apartments lined the sides of the paved streets in an orderly fashion, forming a checkerboard of buildings divided neatly by intersections.

From the intersection he currently stood, all three ways of heading left, right or straight ahead seemed indistinguishable to each other, with each street meeting up at another intersection. It was now obvious that he would miss the train and Barret would throw a right tantrum.

Cloud stalked down the street, the soft thuds of his boots being the only sound audible in the quiet night. He had no idea where he was going, and frankly didn't care as his thoughts were entirely else where. The penetrating emerald gaze of the flower girl still lingered in his mind, vivid and for some reason, almost disturbing. The meeting with the unusually friendly and pretty girl had totally knocked him off his feet, making him look like a giddy little fool. Cloud was angry at himself for losing his posture in front of someone else like that. It wasn't as if he had never seen a pretty example of a female before – although this one was exceptionally different, and there was something about her that Cloud could quite not put a finger on.

Lost in the reverie of thoughts which he was not quite accustomed to (and which he seemed to be having quite frequently since the beginning of the mission) Cloud continued to walk aimlessly down the street–

"Hey! You there! Stop right now! You're comin' with us!"

Cloud froze in his track, and slowly turned to face two of the blue uniformed ShinRa guards, with their rifles aimed directly at him. The ex-_Soldier_ cursed softly. This was what he got for his stupid thoughts about a girl he had met for mere seconds.

"About five foot seven, Blonde and carrying a humongous sword," one of the guards said to the other "Yeah, this is him alright. You're under arrest buddy. Put the sword on the ground slowly and don't even think about running."

And running was exactly what Cloud did. The guards began shouting, but luckily for Cloud they did not shoot. They must have been orders to capture him, Cloud thought as he turned right as soon as he reached an intersection. But as he did, the ex-_Soldier _skidded to a halt. Two more ShinRa guards stood in his way also armed with rifles a piece. They too demanded for his arrest and did not open fire, giving the ex-_Soldier _time to pivot sharply away from them. He quickly headed for the other way and dared a glimpse behind. The guards were in hot pursuit and seemed to have doubled in numbers.

So he had managed to run into the paths of the hunting party, all out to get him. Cloud swore once more, with all sorts of regrets forming as he dashed towards yet another intersection. Why didn't he just attack the guards when he saw them? Why did he come this way? And _why _did he have to speak to the flower girl in the first place?

Cloud felt he was losing his head completely again. No, he was going to escape, and find his way to the train station where the train would be still waiting for him with Barret and _Avalanche _in tow. But these thoughts did nothing to fill the frustration he felt when several more guards burst into view from all sides of the streets. Cloud wheeled around and to his dismay, saw that he was completely surrounded.

"Okay buddy, that's as far as you go." A guard said in triumph as the rest closed in, forming a semicircle around him.

Cloud backed off slowly "Hey, hey. I have no time for games fellas." He said as nonchalantly as possible, while his eyes darted back and forth, searching desperately for any cracks to escape through. Then his foot hit a row of railings. Below, behind him, a rail way track stretched forth from a tunnel and Cloud realized that he was standing on an overpass of the train track where his ride would pass through, or might have already passed through. Dread filled the empty pit of his stomach.

There were a little more than s dozen guards around him. Maybe he could take them on… No, he would be dead before he could take a step. Their numbers were double more than what Cloud had gone against at the Reactor. Maybe if he used his Materia and with a bit of luck he could… No, he though once more feebly. If he was caught here, then it would be finished. All hope seemed lost… and then it came.

With a lurch of his heart came the glorious sound of a train rumbling along, as the ground shook slightly beneath his feet. Anticipation filling inside him, Cloud took a peek backwards and recoiled slightly as a sudden blur of charred black streaked into view from the tunnel. If he did not get on now, he would definitely miss it, and worse, get caught.

One of the guards seemed to realize what he was about to do and shouted to his companions "Hey – what the – get him! He's gonna jump!" But it was too late. As every single guard lurched forward, Cloud heaved himself over the railing hoping that the last of the train would not pass by in his fall. His foot hit the bumpy roof with a jolt and was immediately thrown onto his back from the train's accelerating momentum. A bit shocked from the swiftness of things, Cloud lay there for a moment with the wind cutting past him and then he realized that with an amazing stroke of luck, he had managed to escape.

"He never came…" Wedge said quietly, sitting against one of the crates in the luggage compartment of the train. "Do you reckon he went off on his own? Or maybe…" he trailed off glumly when no one responded.

For a moment, the compartment was completely silent, except for the rumbling of the train and the rattling of the luggage. Across from Wedge stood Biggs, leaning against the wall with his eyes staring blankly off in space, and next to him sat Jessie, crouched on the floor seeming as vacant as Biggs. But it was obvious that they, like Wedge, were plainly worried about the ex-_Soldier_.

Barret though, was the only person showing some signs of life, occasionally giving an unfortunate crate or a suitcase a beating with his enormous fists. The arrogant berk was going to pay for making everyone worry like this. Of course, Barret himself was not worried at all. Why would he for such an arrogant bastard that cared about no one else but himself? No definitely not. But, if the ­­­­­­ex-_Soldier _turned up with that irritating smirk of his, Barret was going to kill him. And if he was dying somewhere out in the dark, Barret was going to hunt him down and kill him anyway. Then he heard Jessie's trembling voice break the silence.

"Barret… do you think- maybe- what if he got hurt and… what if-" she quavered, her eyes wide and fearful.

"Hell no!" Barret cut in roughly "Mark my words; he'll keep his sorry ass alive just to get his pay. I won't be surprised if he manages to drag his smart mouth to headquarters askin' for his money wid' his spiky ass still intact." This did not seem to comfort Jessie by the least.

"Hey Barret," this time it was Biggs, who had snapped out of his blank state also "Do you think – if he does come – do you think he'll stay and keep fighting with us?"

"Tha' hell would I know, eh?" he growled an answer, which completely contrasted with his thoughts "Wouldn't give a shit if he went back ter' rejoin the frickin' ShinRa! Why would you fools care anyway?"

Another long, awkward silence followed, but again it did not last long.

_Bang!... Bang! _Everyone jumped at the sudden noise. "What the hell…?" Barret began, but another series of banging cut him off, apparently coming from outside, and this time seeming more persistent than before. Then the banging ceased as abruptly as it came. Without warning, the large sliding door of the compartment skimmed open, revealing the dark tunnel walls rushing by outside. There was a sharp intake of breaths from the uneasy _Avalanche_ members while nothing seemed happen for a moment, then a blurring figure flew through the open door and landed in the middle of the compartment with a loud thump.

"Cloud!" Jesse, Biggs and Wedge shouted all at once, as the ex-_Soldier_ straightened, dusting himself off imposingly. He looked oddly windswept, with his spiky hair seemingly more unruly than before.

"Looks like I was a bit late." He said most casually and turned to Barret, who was lowering his gun-arm slowly with a look of – could it be? – weary relief on his dark toned face. It was gone in flash though, replaced by his angry scowl with his eyes ablaze.

"A bit late? A _bit _late?" He growled menacingly, rising to his full, towering height. "Damn righ' you are! Waltzin' in here an' makin' a big scene! Ya' had everyone worried sick! Shit, ya' don' give a shit 'bout no one but yerself!"

Cloud smirked widely "You were worried about me? I'm touched." In fact, he was astounded. The big man worried? And for him?

"_What_!" Barret roared, his face red. "This is comin' outta yo' pay, spikey ass!" Then he whirled upon the unsuspecting others who were watching anxiously. "Get up from yo' asses! We're movin' to the next car!"

With a final glare for the smirking ex-_Soldier_, Barret stomped towards the door leading to the next compartment, leaving the rest in an oddly uneasy silence. Though uneasy it was Cloud saw that everyone else was smiling slightly in relief.

Wedge started for the next carriage first, a large boyish grin on his wide face. "You did great!" he said happily and slapped Cloud's back before proceeding through.

Biggs followed shortly "We'll do better next time, eh Cloud?" He said, grinning just as widely as Wedge.

Now the compartment was empty save for Jessie and himself. There was a noisy shuffling of feet from behind. Cloud turned to see Jessie closing the sliding door of the car which he had flown in though. When she turned to face him, her look of relief transformed into slight amusement.

"Oh, Cloud! Your face is covered in soot!" she exclaimed as she pulled out a handkerchief and proceeded to wipe his face clear. Cloud felt his face heat up slightly behind the fabric "There we go!" Tucking her cloth back into her pocket, Jessie started for the next car "Say, thanks for saving me back there – twice." She said pausing at the door, and smiled in appreciation before proceeding through.

Cloud did not follow through immediately and instead stood rooted to where he was, feeling glad that Jessie had not seen him blush. He felt stupid, just like he had with the flower girl from the streets before. It really was not like himself to be acting like that at all. Maybe he really was sick, considering the voices he had heard back at the reactor too. Cloud shook his head vigorously and walked through. Why was he thinking about it? It wasn't such a big deal anyway.

The passenger carriage was at least double the size of the storage car and two rows of tattered seats flanking the narrow passage down the middle of the car. Other than Barret and the trio, two more people occupied the seats. One of them, an old rugged beggar, looked up from where he lay on the seats as Cloud passed.

"More of ya', hmph! Can't and old man git some shuteye in his own home? Tcha!" With that he rolled over onto his side, turning his back on the ex-_Soldier_. Nonplussed, Cloud continued past the grumpy beggar and the past the other passenger swathed in a long trench coat. The shifty looking man visibly flinched when Cloud passed by, casting him a casual glance. Perhaps his _glance _could have been a cold glare, which was a usual for him, with the effect of the giant sword on his back could have made him fierce looking as Barret.

Cloud almost snorted aloud at the thought. Then again, who could be ferocious as Barret? Sitting casually on the seats alone was the big man himself, his head turned to the windows, watching the passing darkness in an unusual silence.

Leaving the big man to his own thoughts, Cloud proceeded past him to where the rest of _Avalanche _were. The three stood at the end of the car, near the door leading to the next carriage. While Biggs and his pudgy little companion were in an animated conversation off to one side, Jessie stood by herself, her eyes bright with interest as she studied a small monitor attached to the train wall, lost in it as if nothing else in the world was more important.

The loud thumps of Cloud's boots brought her back to earth, causing her to take her eyes off the screen momentarily. She gestured him to join.

"Hey Cloud, have a look at this," She said and pulled him towards the small screen eagerly. "It's a map of Midgar and it's railing system. Cool isn't it?"

Cloud forced himself to nod as he watched the screen blink to life. This certainly was no interest to him at all, but the look on Jessie's face was one of such wonder and delight, that he could not come to voice his thoughts aloud.

"You know, I really like this kinda stuff you know…" she began with a bit of mournful air "Things like Bombs and machinery. I've always dreamed of becoming an engineer or some sort. But… being born in the slums… and well, many things happened and… oh you wouldn't want to know." She did not give him the chance to reply and pushed a small button.

"Okay, it's about to start." A small holographic image of a wire-framed structure appeared. It was a large circular plate, supported by a number of pillars below. The plate, divided into eight equal sections, surrounded a looming tower in the middle.

"This is a model of our city Midgar, as you can see." Jessie began, her voice changing suddenly as if she was giving a lecture of some sort "The plate rises hundred metres above ground level, and there's a main support pillar at the centre that acts as the backbone of the city. There are other pillars as well, eight to be exact for each of the sectors. And of course, there are eight reactors for each sector as well."

Jessie paused for a second then suddenly leaned in closer to him, her voice dropping to a bare whisper "The reactor we blew up was the number one reactor at the northern section of the city. Then there are number two, three and up to eight, all the way around the city, and each reactor produces electricity for the city, mainly for their own sector… by sucking up the Mako." She added, with a fierce scowl.

Her voice became normal once more as she continued on, her scowl gone in a flash "Well, that's what we're trying to stop isn't it? Anyway, each sector used to have a name… it was years ago though, when I was still young. No one remembers it now… and they're referred to with numbers." Her eyes suddenly filled with sadness. "That's the kind of place this is now…"

With a sigh, Jessie reached for another small button near the monitor. The image suddenly zoomed in below, towards one of the pillars supporting a section of the plate.

"This is the route this train takes down to the slums" she began more briskly this time, as a small dotted line trailed down the pillar in spirals to the ground level. "It spirals around the pillar like that and every time we pass the centre of the pillar, the ID sensor on the train is activated, so that the system could check the identities of each and every passenger on the train. Then the information is collected back at the ShinRa headquarters so they could catch any suspicious people who are wanted, people like us to be exact."

She gave a reassuring smile at the look on Cloud's face "Don't worry though. I designed fake ID cards just for the occasion." Just as the words left her mouth, the room was bathed in a flashing red light. Cloud jumped slightly as a red beam of light swept over him, than onto the rest of the passengers who seemed unfazed by the process. As the red light faded, Jessie giggled silently at the ex-_Soldier_'s reaction. "Don't worry, we're safe for now." She said with another reassuring smile "Anyway, thanks for listening Cloud!"

As he watched the women join her companions, Cloud silently thanked her for not continuing any further and turned to the seats, taking one opposite to Barret, who had been silent for an unusually long time.

"Look ou' there," the big man said suddenly in a strangely soft voice, his eyes still fixed to the window "Y'can see the surface now." And sure enough, as Cloud turned to see through his own window, the bare, dusty looking ground was only metres below. "Ya' really can't tell f'its night or day below here. If the plates weren't up there… then we could see the skies… the stars…."

Cloud watched the big man and his sudden odd behaviour in silence. Barret continued, his voice hardening as he went on "The plates… the upper world… Shit, s'all cuz o' that frickin' _pizza_ on top the people in the slums are sufferin'. There's nothin' but dirt an' shitty air fer' the people ter' breathe down here. Those damn reactors make it worse, suckin' the life outta the planet like that, destroyin' everythin'"

"Then why don't the people just move up to this upper world?" Cloud asked. Barret's dark eyes met his in a long silence. For a moment they stared at each other, until Barret turned back to the window with a shake of his head, a frown creasing his brow.

"Dunno man. Maybe cuz they ain't got enough money fer the high class world 'bove. Or maybe… cuz they love their land… no matter how dark an' polluted it gets."

No more words came as both men stared out the windows at the dark and rugged surface of the slums, lost in their own thoughts.

This man, these people, they were so different. Just being with them made Cloud feel alienated. Unlike the others living in the slums, they did not wallow in hopelessness. They were doing what they had deemed as right. They took action, risking their lives for the good of others, unperturbed against impossible odds. Why?

Against impossible odds. They had no chance against a power as strong as ShinRa. So why were they doing this? What was to be gained from all this? Why did they carry unnecessary duties on their shoulders willingly? Genuinely for the good of others? For the love of their planet? It made no sense at all. They were throwing their lives away, why? For what?

Why was he here then? What was his purpose of being here with them? There was a simple answer to that. For himself. His purpose of being here was for the money. For his own benefit. He did not care for the planet, the slum dwellers or anybody else. What was more important than one's own welfare? His peace of mind and happiness for himself? He had always been independent, and relied on only himself. In this rugged world, no one could be trusted. There was no room for weakness and dependency on others. To live, you had to be strong, or be crushed by the larger forces in life.

So why?

The train continued to roll down in spirals, almost noiselessly as if not to break the poignant silence in the atmosphere of the slums below, as Cloud left the question unanswered. A bored voiced of a female conductor drifted from the intercom above him. "Last train out of Sector Eight Station. Last stop is Sector Seven, Train Graveyard. Expected time of arrival is Twelve Twenty-Three AM, Midgar Standard Time..."

The message was less than a buzz to him, as Cloud thought, and continued thinking in silence until the train came to a stop; he would never understand the people he was working with.


End file.
